Rotatably mounted drawer



Aug. 28, 1951 4 G. D. GILLETT 2,565,186

ROTATABLY MOUNTED DRAWER Filed April 24, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.

/ IN VEN TOR.

GLENN D. G/LLETT BY Arron/v5) G. D. GILLETT ROTATABLY MOUNTED DRAWERAug. 28, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 24, 1947 INVENTOR. GLENN 0.GILLET'T ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 28, 1951 ROTATABLY MOUNTED DRAWER GlennD. Gillett, Belle Haven, Va., assignor to the United States of Americaas represented by the Secretary of the Navy pplica ion pri 2 1947, Seral No- 439 8 This invention relates particularly to improvements inslides for supporting withdrawable f components in cabinets and thelike. A

' An object of the invention is to provide a movmovable supports, and

able support that is sturdy and dependable, simpie to operate, and easyand inexpensive to make. Another object is to provide a support wherebythe object supported can be moved substantially horizontally, and canalso be rotated about an axis.

Further objects and advantages of this invention, as well as, itsconstruction, arrangement and operation, will be apparent from thefollowing description and claims in connection with the accompanyingdrawings in which Fig. 1 is an elevation view of one form of drawerslide embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view show-. ing the individual .partsof the drawer slide of Fig. 1. in spaced relationship, to clarify themanher in which the parts cooperate; and

Fig. 3 is a detail of the latch operating mechanism for the latchpinsshown in Figs. l and 2, illustrated in inverted position for conveniencein viewing the parts. t

It is frequently desirable to install material or equipment in thedrawers of a cabinet, or. the like, in order to talt eadvantage of theeconomy of space afforded by this arrangement and also in order to makethe equipment accessible for reference, adjustment, repairs, ormaintenance, as the nature of the equipment may require or permit. Forexample, the practice is widespread to store plans, literature, andcorrespondence in filing cabinets, the drawers of which are supported ontrack-like structures that permitmore or less complete withdrawal of thedrawers from the housing structure while still offering support for theweight of said drawers. It is also becoming increasingly the practice tomount the components of mechanisms, especially of those that areelectrical or electronic in character, in structures of thisfundamentaltype. The particular advantage of so doing lies in theaccessibility of units when necessity arises to replace electronic tubesand so forth, without requiring the provision ofpermanent (and otherwisewasted) access spaces above and around each unit of the equipment.

I -he present invention greatly augments the convenience afforded by thedrawer-in-cabinet construction, in that it makes Possible theorientation of each unit (drawer) in a plurality of positions so thatthe front, back, top and bottom 8 Claims. (01.1 312-323) a are equallyaccessible, and any of these canbe placed in the most'advantageousposition for the work to be accomplished. For example,in.elec

jtronic equipment particularly, while electronic tubes are known to beof limited life, and the provision of easy access to such tubes is ofparamount importance, it is nevertheless also very desirable to be ableto replace or change other circuit components which may become exhaustedor which may not be suitable for a new condition of operation that wasnot anticipated'at the time the unit was originally assembled. Thecomplexity of circuits ineurrent use, and other considerations such asthe need for shielding certaincomponents and the desirability of keepinglengths of connections to a minimum, preclude'mounting many of thecircuit elements on the top of the chassis, and recourse must be had tosub-chassis installation. It is therefore highly desirable to be able toposition the unit so that its normally-under side is at the front or ontop for ease in working thereon.

The manner in which the present invention enables this'to be done willbeevident from the following description and from the annexed drawing,in which I0 is a case slide} adapted to be fixedly installed in the caseor housing of the cabinet. rollers M which enable it to roll within caseslide l0, and it is a pan slide adapted to roll on rollers I4 and tocarry pan support 18 rotatably mounted on support pin 2!].

Pan slide [6 is also provided with one or more latch pins 22 hat engageany of a plurality of holes 24, per mitting pan support l8 to be placedin one of several positions and locked in place through engagement ofa'pin 22 in a selected hole 24. Disengagement of pins 22 from holes 24 canbe er.- fected by exerting thrust directed to the right (as viewed inFig. 3)on;1atch-operating bar 26 against the tensionof spring 38.Thoconstruc tion of the latch mechanism as shown in Fig. ,3 is merelyone of many possible arrangements, but it has been found to beconvenient to make and to use. Bar 26 is slidably attached to pan slidel6 by the engagement of slots 30 in said bar with pins or rivets 28 thatare firmly fastened to said pan slide, and is. normally urged to theleft by tension o pr .8, act twe n. ea moun ed on the pan slide and tab36 on the latchoper ating bar. Bar 25 also carries inclined members 32which engage latch pins. 2.2 atslots 3:14 formed in the latch pins, sothat displacement of bar 2 6 to the right causes. upward movementof.pins 32 (asviewedinFig. a This motionin t efae;

I2 is an extension slide provided with v tual installation results inwithdrawal of pins 22 from holes 24, thereby freeing pan support l8 forrotation about support pin 20. Conversely, the release of bar 26 permitsspring 38 to draw the said bar to the left and to cause downward motionof pins 22 (as viewed in Fig. 3), which corresponds to the urging ofsaid pins into engagement with holes 24 in the actual installation. Theusual installation comprises a right-and a left-hand member of the kinddescribed, providing bilateral support for the equipment carried. It maybe convenient in some cases to omit the latching provision on eitherside so as to facilitate operation by one person. Obviously, the slidesand the rotable coupling thereto of pan support 18 can be made in avariety of ways without materially departing from the principleunderlying this invention. For example, the sup- 7 port for alightweight and inexpensive item might comprise a plain fiat or anglemember of metal or wood, adapted to slidelengthwise in a groove providedin the. housing of the cabinet, and pro: vided with a hole instead ofpin 20, to receive either end of a rod that passes through or under theequipment being supported and that is fastened thereto. A more elaboratevariation for heavy equipment might have ball-bearing mounting insteadof pin and might also have carefully machined ball races and bearingballs substituted for the substantially fiat track surfaces of slides10, l2, l6 and for rollers I4, respectively. In any event, if thesupported equipment is relatively heavy, it is desirable for support pin20 or the equivalent to be approximately aligned with the center ofgravity of the equipment in order to minimize the upsetting tendency ofunbalanced weight. Provision can also be made in a variety of ways forensuring that the left-and righthand members of a pair of slides advancesubstantially equal distances from the housing of the cabinet when theassembly is withdrawn, so that the equipment is not cocked laterally.One way to do so is to couple the rearward ends of left and right panslides by a rigid member fixedly attached to both of them.

In the stowed position, slides l0, l2, and it are substantiallyco-extensive, whereas in the extended position pan slide l6 projectsbeyond extension slide l2 about one-half of its length, while extensionslide l2 projects beyond case slide l0 about one-half of its length. Itis usually convenient to provide, on the equipment supported by pansupport [8, handles upon which tractive effort may 'beexerted towithdraw the equipment from the stowed to the extended position, but incase it is desired not to install handles on the equipment, anotherarrangement may be adopted such as the provision of a front platejoining left and'right pan slides I6 and having a handle or handlesthereon.

In operation, the drawer containing the equipment is withdrawn from thecabinet structure by grasping the aforementioned handle or handles andpulling the movable assembly outward. As thus is done, rollers [4 rollwithin case slide l0 and carry with them extension slide 12, on whichthey are rotatably mounted. Pan slide I6 simultaneously rolls on rollersl4, thereby progressing outward substantially twice as fast as doesextension slide 12, so that at complete extension of the movableassembly the extension slide is in substantially mid-position betweencase slide I0. and pan slide it, enabling it to continue to support theweight of the latter. Latches of any convenient type may optionally beprovided for securing the movable members in the stowed or in theextended position.

When the slides are sufliciently extended, the operator may apply thrustto latch-operating bar 26 by pressure of a forefinger in the directionof further extension of the slides, and this results in transversemotion of latch pins 22, causing disengagement of the pins from holes 24in pan support l8. The pan support and the equipment mounted thereon arethen free to rotate about support pin 20, and the user can readily causesuch rotation to take place until a desired orientation of the parts isachieved, whereupon he releases bar 26, and spring 38 urges it in theopposite direction, causing pins 22 to engage with other holes 24 atlocations compatible with such desired orientation. For replacing theequipment within the cabinet, similar steps are taken in reversesequence.

Changes can be made in the above-described embodiment of this inventionwithout departing from the spirit and scope thereof as set forth in theappended claims. j

The invention described herein may be manu factured and used by or forthe Government of the United States of America for governmental purposeswithout the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

I claim: V

1. A horizontally slidable and vertical-1y tippable drawer supportcomprising slidable supporting means; drawer-supporting means rotatablycarried by said slidable means; locking means for locking saiddrawer-supporting means at any selected one of a plurality of angleswith th horizontal; and means for releasing said looking means wherebysaid drawer-supporting means and a drawer supported thereby can be movedfrom a position at said one angle to a position at another such angle;said locking means comprising aperture-providing means at tached to saiddrawer-supporting means, means movable into and out of the apertures ofsaid aperture-providing means, and means for moving said movable means.

2. A horizontally slidable and vertically tippable drawer supportcomprising slidable supporting means; drawer-supporting means rotatablycarried by said slidable means; locking means for locking saiddrawer-supporting means at any selected one of a plurality of angleswith the horizontal; and means for releasing said locking means wherebysaid drawer-supporting means and a drawer supported thereby can be movedfrom a position at said one angle to a position at another such angle;said locking means comprising aperture-providing means attached to saiddrawer-supporting means, means movable into and out of the apertures ofsaid aperture-providing means, and means for moving said movable means,said apertures being circumferentially disposed about the axis ofrotation of said drawer-supporting means. 1

3. A horizontally slidable and vertically tippable drawer supportcomprising slidable supporting means; drawersupporting means rotatablycarried bysaid slidable means; locking means for locking saiddrawer-supporting means at any selected one of a plurality of angleswith the horizontal; and means for releasing said locking means wherebysaid drawer-supporting means and a drawer supported thereby canbe movedfrom a position at said one angle to a position at another such angle;said locking means comprising an element having apertures disposed on acircle th center of which is on the axis of rotation of saiddrawer-supporting means, pins supported by said slidable means andmovable into and out of said apertures, and means for moving said pins.

4. In a structure including a movable drawer supported upon ahorizontally slidable and vertically tippable drawer support, theimprovement comprising slidable supporting means for supporting theweight of the drawer in an extended position, drawer-supporting meansrotatably carried by said slidable means, locking means for locking saiddrawer-supporting means at an angle with the horizontal, and means forreleasing said locking means whereby said drawersupporting means and adrawer supported thereby can be moved from a tilted position at saidangle to a tilted position at another angle or to a horizontal position,said releasing means comprising an element movable in the direction ofextension from the structure of said slidable supporting means foreffecting release of said locking means.

5. In a structure including a movable drawer supported upon ahorizontally slidable and vertically tippable drawer support, theimprovement comprising slidable supporting means for supporting theweight of the drawer in an extended position, drawer-supporting meansrotatably carried by said slidable means, locking means for locking saiddrawer-supporting means at a plurality of angles with the horizontal andin a horizontal position, and means for releasing said locking meanswhereby said drawer-supporting means and a drawer supported thereby canbe moved from a tilted position at said angle to a tilted position atanother angle or to a horizontal position, said releasing meanscomprising an element movable in the direction of extension from thestructure of said slidable supporting means for effecting release ofsaid locking means.

6. In a structure including a movable drawer supported upon ahorizontally slidable and vertically tippable drawer support, theimprovement comprising slidable supporting means for supporting theweight of'the drawer in an extended position; drawer-supporting meansrotatably carried by said slidable means; locking means for locking saiddrawer-supporting means at a plurality of angles with the horizontal andin a horizontal position; and means for releasing said locking meanswhereby said drawer-supporting means and a drawer supported thereby canbe moved from a tilted position at said angle to a tilted position atanother angle or to a horizontal position; said locking means comprisingaperture-providing means attached to said drawersupporting means, meansmovable into and out of the apertures of said aperture-providing means,and means for moving said movable means; and said releasing meanscomprising an element movable in the direction of extension from thestructure of said slidable supporting means for effecting release ofsaid locking means.

7. In a structure including a movable drawer supported upon ahorizontally slidable and vertically tiltable drawer support, theimprovement comprising slidable supporting means for supporting theweight of the drawer in an extended position; drawer-supporting meansrotatably carried by said slidable means; locking means for locking saiddrawer-supporting means at a plurality of angles with the horizontal andin. a horizontal position; and means for releasing said locking meanswhereby said drawer-supporting means and a drawer supported thereby canbe moved from a tilted position at said angle to a tilted position atanother angle or to a horizontal position; said locking means comprisingapertureproviding means attached to said drawersupporting means, meansmovable into and out of the apertures of said aperture-providing means,and means for moving said movable means, said apertures beingcircumferentially disposed about the axis of rotation of saiddrawersupporting means; and said releasing means comprising an elementmovable in the direction of extension from the structure of saidslidable supporting means for efiecting release of said locking means.

8. In a structure including a movable drawer supported upon ahorizontally slidable and vertically tippable drawer support, theimprovement comprising slidable supporting means for supporting theweight of the drawer in an extended position; drawer-supporting meansrotatably carried by said slidable means; locking means for locking saiddrawer-supporting means at a plurality of angles with the horizontal andin a horizontal position; and means for releasing said locking meanswhereby said drawer-supporting means and a drawer supported thereby canbe moved from a tilted position at said angle to a tilted position atanother angle or to a horizontal position; said locking means comprisingan element having apertures disposed on a circle the center of which ison the axis of rotation of said drawer supporting means, pins supportedby said slidable means and movable into and out of said apertures, andmeans for moving said pins; and

said releasing means comprising an element movable in the direction ofextension from the structure of said slidable supporting means foreffecting release of said locking means.

GLENN D. GILLETT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 651,739 Woodrufi June 12, 1900658,310 Babb Sept. 18, 1900 1,014,831 Long Jan. 16, 1912 1,094,962 Arenset a1. Apr. 28, 1914 1,195,291 Stubbers Aug. 22, 1916 2,337,159 FriedlDec. 21, 1943 2,486,764 Singer Nov. 1, 1949

